EU transfers for Poland will be so large that the head will be small. Tusk’s government may have a problem

In just a few months, he will transfer EUR 76 billion to Poland. The head of the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy said in January that Poland had met the last three conditions necessary to start disbursing structural funds. Tusk’s government is also trying to unfreeze payments from . Poland may receive up to EUR 23 billion this year (including the KPO, we will receive almost EUR 60 billion in the form of subsidies and cheap loans).

Tusk’s government may have a problem. Transfers for Poland are so big that your head is small

Of course, the money will, above all, accelerate the implementation of investments and stimulate the economy. But problems can also arise. – We have never had such a large cash injection in one year, which may await us at any moment, in history. But today it seems that as a country we are not fully prepared to accept such huge amounts so quickly – said Jacek Kotrasiński, president of the EPSEC (European Partnership for Science and Competitiveness) think tank, an expert on EU funds, in an interview with the website .

– The state needs staff who will efficiently manage and settle these funds, infrastructure managers and local governments must have projects in progress soon. Likewise companies expecting money. Poland must create a huge investment front, he added.

In turn, Katarzyna Antosiewicz, a manager and expert in obtaining EU funds and project management, sees a threat from the national system of applying and settling EU funds in managing institutions or institutions intermediating in their distribution. – High employee turnover and their unequal competences cause long delays in the settlement of funds, reimbursement of expenses, payment and settlement of advance payments – said the expert.

Poland must spend money from the cohesion fund and KPO. Time is running out

Poland will have plenty of EU money, but little time to implement projects. EUR 76 billion of structural funds are money from the EU budget scheduled until 2027, but investments can be made after the end of this financial perspective. This is not as urgent an issue as the money from the National Reconstruction Plan, which is still blocked and will have to be spent by 2026.

In the case of the KPO, another problem is the government’s announcement of its revision. . – We review the project in terms of its reasonableness and feasibility for Poland and feasibility – she explained. The head of the ministry announced that after the review there will be a decision by the Prime Minister, and then the revision of the KPO will be negotiated with the European Commission.

What about KPO? Poland convinces the European Commission to start transfers

Let us remind you once again – Poland has to spend money from the KPO by 2026, although it has not yet received it (not counting the amount of EUR 5 billion under the RePowerEU program, which was paid without meeting the “milestones”). Justice Minister Adam Bodnar argued this week in Brussels for the European Commission to unblock the funds. He emphasized that, in order to meet the conditions, Poland will prepare laws and actions that do not require legislative changes.

Adam Bodnar also noted that the consent of President Andrzej Duda will be needed to carry out reforms in the judiciary. The European Commission allegedly suggested unofficially that it could agree to transfer money from the KPO even though Andrzej Duda did not sign the bills. The Minister of Justice did not confirm this.

– You can never be sure about such things and I would be overstepping the limit of what I can say if I said something like that. We will do everything in our power to adopt the laws and convince the president to sign them, Bodnar emphasized. The Minister of Justice also said that Poland’s accession to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which ensures the correct spending of EU funds, will help in unlocking money from the KPO. Adam Bodnar said that it was well received both in the Commission and among member states.